The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing liquid soap, normally in discrete small quantities or charges. Such dispensing apparatus is used, particularly for hygienic purposes, in public or institutional washrooms or the like or wherever there are a relatively large number of different users.
The present invention is an improvement on the soap dispensers and refill systems therefor disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,363 granted Apr. 19, 1977 to Antonio Macchi Cassia, U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,573 granted Apr. 17, 1979 to Antonio Macchi Cassia, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,858 granted Nov. 13, 1979 to Antonio Macchi Cassia. While all of these systems and dispensers work effectively, they are all to some extent subject to having the refill cartridges designed for use therewith bottlegged by third parties. That is, although the dispenser is designed to accept a specific cartridge, third parties often attempt to enter the replaceable cartridge market and bootleg inferior soap products into the dispenser.
It is this particular bootleg problem to which the present invention is directed and which is solved in a unique manner.